How To Mend A Broken Heart
by IHeartSKatic
Summary: Emma's whole life changes when a little girl knocks on her door, bringing a part of her past in full force.
1. Surprise

And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain falling down?

Tell me how can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go 'round?

* * *

It was a typical Saturday night for Emma Swan, she was laying back on the huge black couch facing the window at her apartment somewhere in Boston after an awful date. The table she had shared with the young man was way too small for the size of his ego. Seriously, all he could talk about was how his life was incredible and how he managed to balance his work outs with the rest of the things he was supposed to do. Emma sighed and put a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she was so tired of these lame attempts at dating. All she wanted was to feel butterflies roaming her stomach and to have the air stolen from her lungs. She just wanted to feel the same way she did when she dated _her._ No, she couldn't allow herself to compare anyone to _her,_ not after everything they both did and said to each other.

Emma sighed once more and sat up straight, stretching her numb limbs. _Wow, I'm getting old_. She thought as she heard a cracking sound when she stretched her neck to the side. She looked around her empty apartment, at all of the luxurious things that her job had allowed her to buy and closed her eyes. She knew that she had only bought all of those things to compensate the lack of everything from her childhood. It was stupid, yes, but understandable. But she didn't have someone to share those things with, so was it worth it?

The blonde got up and walked towards her bedroom. The dark pink dress she was wearing just became way too uncomfortable and she felt the need to put some yoga pants and a large sweater. Emma put a pair of UGG on her feet and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. Looking at her reflexion in the mirror she smiled and relaxed just a bit. _Now that's more like it_.

She was about to sit back on the couch, now with a bottle of beer in hand, when a knock on the door caught her attention. It was low and she almost missed it, but a second knock came, this time a little louder. Emma frowned and put her beer on the coffee table, she wasn't expecting anyone. It wasn't like she had close friends that would randomly drop by or a family for that matter. A third and a forth knock came and she had had enough.

Emma opened the door in one swing motion and for a second she didn't see anyone there. It was only when she lowered her gaze that she faced a young girl, not older that 10 years old. She had brown hair and brown eyes and a chin that seemed just too familiar. The girl was smiling at her and to be honest, it was a little creepy. She waited for her to say something, but when she didn't she started.

"Uhm, can I help you?" She stared at her and pulled her sweater closer.

"Are you Emma Swan?" Her smile grew wider when the woman's name fell from her lips. She had waited for this moment for so long and now that it was finally there she couldn't help but feel incredibly excited about everything.

"Y-Yeah, that's me." Emma looked incredibly confused. What the hell was that girl doing at her door at 23:00 pm on a Saturday night? And where the hell were her parents? A kid her age couldn't be walking around Boston all alone, could she? "And you are?"

"My name is Harriet. And I'm your daughter."

"M-m-my what?" Emma's eyes widen and before she could register, the girl was passing her and walking into her apartment. That couldn't be true, could it? She suddenly felt sick, her head was spinning so fast and she felt like she was going to pass out. The young blonde took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. _This is just a dream, wake up, Emma. It's just a dream._ She repeated to herself, trying to convince herself.

"Yeah, 10 years ago you gave up a baby to adoption, didn't you?" Harriet sat on a barstool in Emma's kitchen and put her small backpack on the counter next to the bowl full of fruits. She reached out and grabbed an apple, smiling at her favourite fruit. "So, that baby is me."

"Excuse me, I need a moment." Emma made a beeline for the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Her worst nightmare was coming true on full force. What the girl said was true, she had had a baby and given it to adoption, but she specifically asked for a closed adoption to avoid this exact situation. The whole thing had been a mistake. If she hadn't tried to take _her_ out of her mind and slept with the first one she saw, this wouldn't be happening.

Emma threw some cold water on her face and took a series of deep breaths. She couldn't hide in the bathroom forever, or could she? Sure, it was stupid to hide from a 10 year old, but she desperately felt like she needed to. _What does she want from me? Does she want to bond or something? I can't do that, I can't be a mom. And what if her family finds out? I don't think they'll really like that._ Various thoughts and situations invaded her mind and she had to grab the edge of the sink to keep from falling down. _Damn_.

"Do you have milk?" Came Harriet's voice from the kitchen. _Seriously, didn't whoever raised her give her any manners?_ Emma scoffed and shook her head, from all the people in the world this had to be happening to her. "Never mind! I found it!" Okay, that was enough. The blonde woman turned the doorknob and finally walked towards the kitchen.

"Where's your mother?" Emma walked to the coffee table and got the bottle she had left there again. She was in need of something stronger, but she had a rule of not keeping stuff like that at home, she didn't want to have to deal with the temptation. "I mean, she's probably worrying sick about you. Boston is kinda dangerous for a little girl like you."

"She probably hasn't even noticed that I'm gone, she's too busy with her work and her boyfriend." She made a face when she said that last word. Her mother insisted that he was nothing, but the girl knew she was lying. He was there all the time, he had dinner with them and sometimes he would even spend the night. The brunette was young, but her eyes worked just perfectly.

"And where is your father?" Emma arched a perfect blonde eyebrow. Somehow she doubted that a mother wouldn't notice that her kid was missing, even if she was as busy as the little girl had said. Well, unless it was a foster home, in that case she knew it could happen. It had happened to her a million of times. She was just a meal ticket, an object even. She had given the baby away to give her a better chance than the one she had.

"Uhm, I don't really have one. It's just me and my mom, you know? Single mother and all of that." Harriet finished her glass of milk and put it in the sink and immediately turned around to look at the blonde woman again. She noticed that they had the same chin and the same eye shape, but not the same color. While Emma's were a light soft green, Harriet's were an intense brown. The girl wasn't blonde either, but she was just as skinny as her biological mother. Maybe that's why it took her so long to notice that she was actually adopted. She had a lot in common with her adoptive mom, even her personality.

"I should call you mother and ask her to pick you up, it's getting really late." Emma shook Harriet out of her trance and the girl's eyes widen. Was she scared of her mother? Emma wondered.

"Why don't you, uh, drop me instead? This way we can get to know each other a little better." The girl looked up at Emma with puppy eyes. She knew that if the blonde called her mom she would be in an even bigger trouble. It wasn't that her mother was mean to her or anything like that, she was always super busy with, well, everything. And since Harriet didn't have any friends of her own, she was pretty much alone all the time. She just wanted a bit of attention, was it too much to ask?

Every inch of Emma's brain was screaming at her, telling her to just call the girl's mother and be done with this whole awkward situation. But a little voice in the back of her mind was telling her that she needed to do this for some unknown reason. The blonde felt something towards the girl, something she wasn't quite sure of yet. "Where do you live?" The woman said after a couple of minutes.

"Storybrooke, Maine. It's not far from here, maybe an 1 hour?"

"Storybrooke? Really?" Emma arched her eyebrows, she had never, ever in her entire life heard of a town called Storybrooke. She had to admit that the name was a bit creative, but stupid nonetheless. The girl nodded and smiled at her. "Ugh, fine. Get your stuff."

* * *

They had been in the car for almost 30 minutes now and Harriet was still talking about every little aspect of her life. She had told Emma about how her mother makes breakfast for her every single morning before waking her up in the most gentle way. She also told her about the apple tree they had in the backyard and about how badly she wanted a dog, but her mother wouldn't let her.

"I asked her about a million of times, but she always says no. I mean, what's the problem with having a dog, really? She once told me it was because we didn't have space for a canine. Her words, exactly. But I know that's just an excuse. We live in a huge two-story house with a super, truper backyard. Besides, a little puppy would bring a bit of warmth to the house, you know? Everything is always so quiet, since my mom is always in her study. Oh, have I told you-"

Emma just tuned out. That girl could talk for hours and she was simply exhausted. What would she give to be curled into a ball on top of her soft sheets and under her warm blanket. She sighed and focused on the road ahead of her. The Emma she knew would never, in a thousand years, drive for a whole hour to drop a stranger home. Yeah, the girl was her biological daughter -by the way, she still had her doubts about that- but she was still a complete stranger. Besides the things the girl had told her, she knew absolutely nothing. She didn't know her favourite color, or her favourite movie or even her favourite ice cream flavour. And as crazy as it sounds, a part of her was just not okay with that.

After what seemed like an eternity, Emma's yellow bug -her favourite thing in the whole wide world- passed by a big sign. On it, in big bold letters were the words "Welcome To Storybrooke." The blonde woman let out a small laugh and the girl suddenly looked back at her.

"It's a funny name, I know. But my mom told me it's been the name of this town every since she moved here." Harriet looked out the window and smiled at the familiar view. This town was everything to her. She had been raised there, she had made the best memories with the help with some of the people who lived there. Even though she didn't have any friends, she had people who she really cared about. Mary Margaret, for instance. Without her help, she wouldn't have found Emma.

"Where to now, kid?" Emma noticed that she was on the Main Street, or that was what it looked like. She saw a diner full of people and a bunch of stores, one right next to the other, all closed because of the time. _The time_. It was almost 1am in the morning and she still had a 4 hour drive back -yeah, Harriet had lied and Emma only found out when the supposed 1 hour passed and they weren't even close to getting to Storybrooke. _Maybe I should look around for a hostel of something_. She thought to herself.

"Turn to your left right here and then to your right. Mifflin Street, 108, Mayor's house is the biggest house on the block."

Emma's eyes widen at that sentence. Mayor? What? "Wait a sec, you're the Mayor's kid?"

"Uhm, yeah. I thought I told you." She hadn't, on purpose.

The blonde woman took a deep breath. She was driving the Mayor's daughter home after she ran away to meet her, the biological mom, in Boston. God, was she in trouble. _Can she like, arrest me? Or ask someone to? I mean, she's the fucking Mayor, she could actually do that if she wanted to. I cannot go to jail, not again. Jesus, just breathe Emma, nothing's gonna happen, you're just delivering the kid. Poor choice of words, there._ She mentally argued with herself as she turned on Mifflin.

The house was truly huge, just like Harriet had said. It actually looked like a mini version of the white house, which actually made a lot of sense if you stop to analyse the context. The front lawn was also huge and so, so, green. The Mayor probably had someone to take care of it, no way she did it on her own, right? It was just like the house Emma always dreamed of when she was in foster care.

The blonde parked her car right in front of the gate and she got out of the car immediately after the motor died, Harriet following suit. Emma gulped and dried her hands on her yoga pants, they had become incredibly sweaty once the girl revealed her mother's profession. She couldn't back out, not now, she was already in deep shit.

They were almost reaching the door when it swung open and a petit woman with short black hair in a tight grey dress came out running towards them, her eyes fixated on the kid. "Harriet Danielle Mills, where in Merlin's name have you been?" Before the girl could even answer, her mother hugged her so tight that the air of her lungs were stolen. "Don't you ever do that again to me, okay, baby?" She held Harriet's face between her hands, looking straight into her eyes.

"Okay, mommy, I'm sorry. I just wanted to meet my biological mom." Harriet diverted her gaze and looked down at something that seemed incredibly interesting next to her shoes. She was suddenly embarrassed and she couldn't bare to look at her mother's expression right now. She had raised her, she had changed her diapers, cooked meals, helped her with her studies and homework. She was her real mom and she knew that.

The brunette was shocked. She had noticed her daughter's absence when she placed dinner on the table and the girl was nowhere to be found and she instantly called the town's Sheriff. They had looked everywhere, Granny's, the school, the playground by the docs, and nothing. She actually thought she would never hold her little girl ever again and her heart broke. Harriet was the best thing that ever happened in her life. She had filled her house with laughter and bliss and she couldn't be more grateful. She was her little princess, the apple of her eyes, the reason she kept moving forward.

After a few minutes, her daughter's words kicked in and she looked up. She had imagined every scenario in her head, but this one definitely never crossed her mind. The brunette gasped when her chocolate brown orbs came in contact with soft green ones. Those eyes, so beautiful and so familiar. She never thought she would gaze into them ever again and yet here they were. The eyes she would never forget.

"Emma Swan?" The brunette couldn't help but stare. Was it a ghost? It had to be. 7.125 billion people in the world and she had to adopt _her_ daughter? Fate had played the most cruel tricks of all.

"Regina Mills?"

* * *

Tell me what you think. Should I continue?

This is my first SwanQueen fan fiction, so please go easy on me. (;


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone.

Unfortunately, this is not an update...yet. I just wanted to explain why I've been away for so long, I think you guys have the right to know.

I enrolled myself in some classes this past few months: Tv and Film production, Tv and Film animation and TV and Film screenwriting - this last one is going to help me so much with my fanfictions, I truly have learned a lot. I know I left you guys waiting, and I felt so, so guilty, but this was an oportunity of a lifetime and I had to take it.

Now, don't worry. I will keep writing the following titles: A Blast From The Past ; Teenage Love Affair ; How To Mend a Broken Heart and While You Were Sleeping.

About Family Matters: I will rewrite it, the entire thing. I was reading it the other day and it was so so bad, seriously guys, I don't know how you liked it (but thank you anyways). It was my very first fanfiction and I have gotten so much better at writing since then, so I decided that you deserve a decent thing.

Last but not least: I am opened to prompts. But I only write SwanQueen and Rizzles fanfiction, and I can write from K+ to M, whatever you want. You can either send me a private message here or dm me at twitter IHeartSKatic.

I'll be back home by May 15th and I'll start working on the fanfictions as soon as I unpack my bags and stuff (that'll probably last just a day).

Love you all,

Carol


End file.
